Temptation
by Stephy-Lou Clark-Weasley
Summary: Vampire!Knightly fights the temptation he has for Emma's blood. Emma is no help at all


**Author's Note: based on the Emma and the Vampire's novel. A sort of deleted scene where Mr Knightly gives Emma her stake. Warning there is a fair bit of out of character-ness in this fic as well as very improper thoughts and suggestions. On another note I have written a crossover fic with Emma and Jane Eyre and I am begging for you all to take a look at it when you have finished reading this drabble. **

He had never been so tempted before in his very long life.

George Knightly was an old vampire, roughly three hundred years ago if you wanted to round it up, but then again it has been such a long time since he was actually alive that he had forgotten how old he was exactly. It had also been a very long time since he had been a newly made vampire and therefore had not suffered the overwhelming craving for blood as strongly as he was now.

Over the centuries he had perfected self control into an art form as had his brother and fellow vampires who hide in plain sight at Highbury.

One might claim that he should enjoy a little temptation here and there and give into this one temptation.

_Just once_, a voice in the back of his mind would beg.

He cannot because not only was this against his own morals and ruin centuries of hard work but it would ruin the strong friendship he had with the Woodhouse family. The Woodhouses have always been aware of his dark secret and it had never mattered as he and his brother had taken care of each Woodhouse since the very first Henry Woodhouse (born sometime in the fourteenth century) who had been their dearest friend in life before death had taken them all. Their ties with the Woodhouse family had strengthened when John fell for Isabella who nothing like her previous female ancestors.

If he was to succumb to his temptation for the blood that ran through Emma Woodhouse's veins he would ruin everything.

Instead he tested himself as he taught her to protect herself. If he was to lose all self-control then the very least he could do is ensure she could fight him off and kill him if necessary.

The training was torture to him. He had her back pressed up against him as he taught her the proper way to wield a stake and it took every ounce of his self control to not give into that tempting scent of musky flowers and rich blood thrumming excitedly beneath her pale soft skin.

It was most fortunate that Emma was such a fast learner and he did not have to suffer for long. She learnt not only how to handle a stack effectively but how to decapitate a vampire swiftly, the quickest way to start a fire on a vampire's body, and if all fails how to fight and survive. It was more than a relief that she now knew how to do these things he was almost certain that it would be far more torturous if she had died at the hands of his own kind than him being forced to practise his self-control for a few more hours a week than necessary.

On her nineteenth birthday he presented her with her own stake to protect herself with. It was handsomely carved from a very strong tree and more importantly it would keep her safe effectively.

"I thought you could use some ribbon and tie it to your person," he explained gently to Emma who frowned lightly at the large bright blue silk ribbon he had tied round the stake. "Then you shall always have a weapon to protect you at all times."

"An ingenious idea, Mr Knightly," she smiled gratefully at him, "where do you suggest I hide the stake on my person? I assume I cannot have it tied simply to my wrist I may be forced to part with it immediately."

"I would advise you to hide it under your dress," if he was not a member of the exclusive undead club he would surely blush at his improper suggestion. It was highly crude to make such a suggestion in a un-gentleman like manner without any thought or consideration to the lady he was speaking to! It could also so easily compromise Emma if anyone was to overhear this conversation. "What I mean to say," he quickly backtracked, "is that since you do not wear a suit as I do you lack the necessary pockets to hide such a weapon. Your own dress is the next possible cover and it would give you easy access in a fight."

"I knew what you had meant, Mr Knightly," Emma reassured him with another smile, "you have never been the type to make such a crude suggestion."

Her smile had been nothing but politeness and gratefulness to his present and self but her eyes had a terrible mischievous glint in them.

He should have known what was to come next. He should have known she was about to make a cheeky suggestion that would cause all sorts of trouble (mostly for himself).

Unfortunately John had always said that he was nothing but a fool when it came to Emma and even more so unfortunate was that he has always been right in that account.

She made a sudden movement and immediately placed her right foot on the armchair between them before she held her long pale pink skirts of her dress up to a terrible improper height. "Could you please show me how to tie the stake to my thigh?" she asked in what she thought was an innocent voice.

A part of him wanted to throttle her for being so improper and not acting her age at all! Instead he closed his eyes, collected his thoughts and scrapped for the last shred of self control, before he went onto his knees before her and tied the blue silk ribbon round her thigh.

The tips of his fingers were barely brushing against the soft silky skin of her leg (which certainly rivalled the silk of the blue ribbon) but it had been enough to make him hold his breath. His nose was close to her leg and he could make out the pale green vein that was thrumming with excitement and blood, and the scent...

The muskiness and richness of her scent was far stronger there than it ever had been.

He could hear her pulse very loudly and he was certain it had sped up somewhat as well as skipping a beat.

He pulled away, stood up, and coughed before changing the subject and ending the moment before something untoward could happen.

Mr Woodhouse would be severely displeased as well as upset if Mr Knightly was to accidentally murder Emma all over the new covers on the chairs.

This had been the most tempting moment of his life and he had managed to succeed in not succumbing to it no matter how much his feral side desired it.

Emma, however, will always remain temptation personalised and he is not sure if he can withhold from giving into it for the rest of her life.

He would have to try.


End file.
